TV tonight: Keira Knightley shares her family’s wartime love stories

The Oscar-nominee takes part in My Grandparent’s War. Plus, John Bishop – whose eldest son, Joe, is partially deaf – unpicks the issues his family have faced. Here’s what to watch this evening

My Grandparents’ War: Keira Knightley

9pm, Channel 4

From Atonement to The Imitation Game, Keira Knightley has had her fair share of second world war roles. Tonight, the actor becomes enthralled in the deeply moving wartime love story of her sonar operator grandfather – who helped to rescue hundreds of Irish Guards from a sinking ship – and her brave volunteer grandmother. Hollie Richardson

Celebrity MasterChef: The Final

8.30pm, BBC One

After a competition that has seen a Strictly dancer, a Chuckle brother and a drag queen prove their cooking skills, it’s time for the final. Lisa Snowdon, Danny Jones and Mel Blatt are the three celebrities left, who must present a faultless three-course meal for judgment by John Torode and Gregg Wallace. HR

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
8pm, Channel 4

Jamie Laing, Kadeena Cox and Tom Davis are the sweet-toothed celebrities chewing over the events of biscuit week with host Jo Brand tonight. They will be joined by the contestant who crumbled and left the tent on Tuesday, while Tom Allen will be judging the audience’s home bakes. HR

All That Glitters: Britain’s Next Jewellery Star

9pm, BBC Two

The fine details of jewellery-making might not have proved totally televisual, but despite the slow pace the battle heats up nicely in the semi-final, with two contestants upping their game and creative personalities coming through. Tonight’s challenges: asymmetric earrings and cufflinks for a special client who patrols Birmingham’s streets. Jack Seale

John & Joe Bishop: Life After Deaf

9pm, ITV

After spending a decade trying to “fix” his son’s deafness (caused by an autoimmune condition), comedian John Bishop is instead choosing to learn British Sign Language and find out more about deaf people. In this moving documentary, he prepares to deliver a set to a deaf audience, while also unpicking the issues his family has faced along the way. By the end, we’ll see his live performance alongside established deaf comedians. HR

John & Joe Bishop: Life After Deaf on ITV.
John & Joe Bishop: Life After Deaf on ITV. Photograph: ITV/REX/Shutterstock

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK

9pm, BBC Three

Joanna Lumley is a dream guest judge in the return of the world’s biggest drag contest. She joins RuPaul, Michelle Visage and Graham Norton to decide which of the new queens should be the first to sashay away. To avoid a lip-sync battle, they must wow in an Olympic-sized photoshoot, then serve two looks on the runway. HR

Film Choice

The Producers (Mel Brooks, 1968) 9.10pm, BBC Four

Gene Wilder and Kenneth Mars in The Producers
It’s showtime … Gene Wilder and Kenneth Mars in The Producers. Photograph: Mgm/Allstar

Mel Brooks’s 1968 film debut is one of the great putting-on-a-show dramas – albeit one where the big production number is called Springtime for Hitler. Zero Mostel’s struggling Broadway producer Max Bialystock takes an idea from his accountant Leo Bloom (played as a bundle of anxiety by Gene Wilder) that a flop could make more money than a hit, and runs with it – because what could be less successful than a musical about the Nazis? Boundary-pushing comedy, but in Brooks’s world it makes perfect sense. His excellent spoof western, Blazing Saddles, follows. Simon Wardell

After Yang (Kogonada, 2022) 10.05am, 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
Yang (Justin H Min) is a robot bought by Jake (Colin Farrell) and Kyra (Jodie Turner-Smith) as an elder sibling for their adopted Chinese daughter, Mika (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja). Then Jake discovers Yang has been recording his own memories: brief snapshots of beauty, sadness, togetherness – even, possibly, love. The idea of AI revealing the essence of humanity isn’t new, but Kogonada’s mystery ponders the big questions with a delicate touch. SW

Contributors

Hollie Richardson, Jack Seale and Simon Wardell

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